Sometimes, 4-H’ers vie just 4 fun
By ED RUNYAN
BAZETTA
From throughout the animal area of the Trumbull County Fairgrounds, about 15 teenaged 4-H members in the dairy-cow division assembled at the Dairy Pavilion to compete in a lesser-known component of 4-H: hands-on activity.
Each youth was given a list of items that he or she needed to find in the animal barn, tent or trailer to return in a bucket. It is a timed event.
After receiving the list of items — tail comb, brush, lead rope, shampoo, rubber band and ribbon — the youths took off running, many of them returning in less than two minutes, in some cases two competitors sprinting to the finish line at the same time.
The event is meant to be a purely fun part of the 4-H’ers’ weeklong competition with their dairy cows, said Richard Owen, a Farmdale native and president of the 4-H Dairy Development Committee that judges the dairy-cow competition.
“We do that just to give them a little bit of fun because they do get serious when it comes to the competitive part of showing the animal,” he said.
The scavenger hunt is one of four areas that are counted in the judging, with the others being showmanship with the cow, animal judging and a project book.
Owen said the kids participating in animal showing learn a lot of valuable lessons while caring for their animals, but perhaps the most important one is that “dedication and hard work pay off when they apply themselves to a project.”
Over the course of a year of caring for their animal, they also learn management skills from keeping cost records, he said.
Daniel Montgomery, 15, of Newton Township, said he enjoys fair week because he gets to spend time with “a lot of friends” and enjoys having a lot to do all week.
Montgomery, who is showing six animals this week, agrees that fair week is “kind of hectic,” adding that the biggest task is washing his animals each morning.
Though Montgomery has a tent to sleep in, he finds it more comfortable to stay in the cow barn.
“I for some reason fall asleep easier and wake up faster in the barn,” he said.